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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Good morning everyone! I am glad to announce that I haven't felt terrible (so far) with this pregnancy! When I was pregnant with Natalia I thought I was cursed with some Aztec spell for having a child far from my country (Just kidding LOL!!!) but it was really bad! So... I haven't felt (too) sick ... I must say I am much hungrier though... I've been cooking more too... So here is something I recently cooked for dinner:

Trust me... The picture doesn't do it any justice! It was better than good! I loved it! And this is what you need to make it happen:

1. Preheat your broiler on high
2. Sprinkle the Salmon with the lemon, black pepper and salt.
3. Place the Salmon fillets over a broiling pan (I used a normal baking sheet and a baking wire rack, placed the salmon on top of it so it doesn't cook on its own juices and it's not directly touching the baking sheet)
4. Broil for about 13 mins.
5. Take out of the broiler and spread the Boursin cheese on top of each fillet
6. Put back in the broiler for about 2 or 3 minutes
7. ENJOY!!!

I served this salmon with spinach and cheese stuffed ravioli and broiled asparagus (I just placed wrapped the asparagus with some butter in a piece of aluminum so it would be like an aluminum bag)

It was the first time I broiled anything, I was afraid to do it, I have a gas stove and I didn't think broiling would be SOOO EASY!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Good morning everyone! I know Today should be a Coffee Friday post! But I have to share the news with you....

I am so happy to be blessed by The Lord... He's been good to me!

Yesterday my day started great .... I received a wonderful gift from a fellow blogger and a dear friend, she is a very creative girl! Her hands are always busy! her name is Morgan and you can see some of her creations on her blog: Becoming Homegrown I promise I will post a picture soon of the gift she gave me... it is the perfect gift for someone like me... A "cup sleeve" .... To hold my coffee to go! So whenever I buy a cup of coffee I will be able to "Dress it up", look super chic and never get burnt!

Thank you Morgan for such wonderful and thoughtful gift!!! You are a great friend! Hubby loved the gift too!!!

---

Around the same time, I received another big surprise..... A surprise I was hoping for but I wasn't sure yet.... And here it is:

As you can see one test wasn't enough for me... I was pretty skeptical so I tested again... But yes, it is a positive result and I am soooooooo happy! Praise the Lord! Our second child! Wonderful news! I am so happy I couldn't wait to share it with all of you!

Thanks for being here... to share my happiness!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17, New King James Version)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Good day dear friends... I am sorry I haven't been posting these last few days but it's been very happily busy here!

But I still read and enjoy your comments! Thank you everyone for reading and commenting ;) You all make my day!

I went to a small town close to the city where I live yesterday with hubby (he had 1/2 day off) and it was a blast... As part of our "tour" we stopped at a Local Coffee Shop, it was really nice, the decor was more like a "personal library/studio/living room" but... hanging from the walls there were... BICYCLES... Yes, bicycles and it made me think how we can basically use "anything" as part of the decoration of a certain place... Have you seen anything too weird? as decor? Have you ever used anything that people thought it was crazy as an object of decoration? Have you ever had an idea of something that would look cool but it was too out of the ordinary?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Happy Thursday everyone! Ready for the weekend? We are almost there! It is a beautiful, warm, bright day here! Yesterday was warm and breezy too! After having a nice day with my daughter I went to pick hubby from work, he was actually in a meeting for some Community group he is part of, he wanted to take a walk with us around the neighborhood, so we held our daughter's hand and off we went about 2 blocks away from home... We were talking and sometimes singing (because our daughter loves to dance) but most of the time we were trying to CONVINCE Natalia to keep holding our hands, we kept telling her it was necessary and that she couldn't walk around on her own, she kept trying to get her hand loose.... and finally we let her walk on her own just for a second.... We had just let her hands go and after a few steps she fell, right on the concrete, making some scratches on her knees, nothing serious of course, but you could tell it hurt.... We explained to her that's why mommy and daddy have to hold her hands when we are outside, she was all happy right away, and it seems she forgot all about it quick enough because she started trying to "escape" from us again.... It made me think how much we are like that, as parents we know we have to hold our children's hands for their own good but still we fail to hold our own Father's hand in our everyday walk! Don't we want to do our own thing sometimes? How many times I've tried to walk "on my own", take my own steps, in the direction I want, we even make excuses and we think we are "big enough" to make certain decisions in our life without God's approval... we think that if we aren't doing "anything wrong" it's ok to choose for ourselves certain things that aren't "too big of a deal to ask our Father about it" but there's nothing too small for God... He cares about everything we do... and His Hand is always there... to hold us when we walk, to pick us up when we fall! And even after falling, we let go of His hand again! why? Well, we are like that! And after some bruises, scratches and some pain we sometimes dare to ask: "Why me?" or we wonder if "it was a punishment from Him" I would say that most of the time... when things go wrong in our lives... It's just a consequence of walking away from Him.... I pray I learned enough from my daughter's fall yesterday! I hope that picture stays in my mind forever .... I hope I always remember to hold my Father's powerful hand!

I have to go now... have to pick up hubby from work for lunch... I am drinking a Frappuccino, enjoying the beautiful day God's given us today!

Have a wonderful, blessed day!

"23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

We all had fun with the "Monday Moments" didn't we? Sharing what my relaxing moments in the week were was really fun! And it was even better to know what you guys like to do to relax! Especially if each comment meant you were part of our Starbucks giveaway!

Yes! She is the winner of 4 Starbucks Frappuccinos and 1 $10.00 Starbucks Gift Card! (every comment was assigned with a number as they were received in each "Monday Moment" post, then a random number was generated and that's how the winner was selected!)

Congratulations to the winner! Hopefully we will see her comment here soon! I will be contacting her to get her info to send her prize! :)

Thanks to everyone else for being part of this giveaway! Stay connected! There are more giveaways coming!

Note: I received 4 Frappuccinos and a $10.00 USD Starbucks Gift-card as an incentive to host this giveaway.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Good morning everyone! What a beautiful day! It is Monday, how are you starting your week? Remember that attitude is very important! you can have a good or bad week if you want to, it's usually up to us!

There is something that Charles Swindoll from Insight for Living said, and I really agree with it so I thought I would share it with all of you:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."

I hope you reflect on that and decide to have a great week and help someone else do the same too!

Now... about our giveaway! It ends today... So... You still have the opportunity to be part of it! The winner will be chosen tomorrow and published here on Wednesday! If you remember, our giveaway consists of:

And to enter you just need to make sure you made a comment last Monday (in our Monday Moments Post) or make a comment HERE in this very Monday moment post!

Here is a picture of my "Moment of Relaxation" last week.... This picture shows my daughter, who was really good and let mommy take a quick shower.... By the time I came out of the shower I found her just like this... (I took her to her crib right away of course)

So, there it is.... now you can be part of this Monday Moment and share with us about a moment of relaxation you had during last week, or just comment about mine, or just say hi... anything! your comment will be your ticket to enter our giveaway! And do not forget to publicly follow "The Coffee shop"

Have a wonderful attitude day!

Note: I received 4 Frappuccinos and a $10.00 USD Starbucks Gift-card as an incentive to host this giveaway.

Above is my take on Coffee Friday. I think the cup in the middle explains it all " Is there life before Coffee" And actually the answer is NO!

My blog, Michael's Kitchen is my take on cooking, recipes, equipment, cookbooks, and the whole foodie thing. I'm a big follower of Classical French and Italian cooking and right now, I'm hung up on Chocolate! What would you like to know about chocolate?

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Good morning dear friends, followers and visitors ;) I am so happy today... Hubby and I had a great time last night at a "Brewers Game" Hubby got tickets from his work for a "founders' suite" at the Miller Park Stadium and VIP parking tickets too! So, we left our girl with our friends (A&J) They are awesome! We are so happy to know she is fine and having fun when they babysit for us! Praise God for friends like that! right? having people you can trust is so important! and we are blessed to have that in them! ... So, having peace of mind that Natalia was safe and having fun, we headed to the Stadium to watch the Brewers vs Rockies game! The suite was really nice (I like going to a baseball game, and I do not need a suite, but I must admit it was nice having a bathroom right there just for you and the people with you LOL!) it was also nice having people bring food for you and have a GREAT VIEW! It was a lot of fun! The food was: chicken tenders, hot wings, brots (or brats, I don't know, it's basically sausage), hot dogs, salad, pizza and of course crackers, cheese, fruit, cookies, brownies, etc... etc...

It was a blast! We left just a little bit earlier to avoid the traffic and be able to pick our daughter a little earlier, we picked her up at 10:35 p.m. (had we stayed longer in the game we would've been picking her up at around 11:30p.m.)

Oh! what a good time! Of course the Brewers won (YAY!) and we were really excited! I can't wait to go again! (with or without a suite!) ... Here are some pics:

Note: (If you haven't entered the giveaway, go back 2 posts and comment to enter! or click on the "frappuccino image" on my sidebar)

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

I just wanted to share with all of you a beautiful anthem by Joseph Martin (I learned it on Easter and I loved it!) ....

You are The Christ

you are the Christ, you are Messiah.
you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
you are the King, you are the Savior.
you are the way, the truth, the life,
you are the Christ! O Lord most high, you are the Christ!

Once unto ev’ry man and nation comes a moment to decide.
What will our answer be to Jesus? will we in faith reply? ...
you are the Christ, you are Messiah.
you are the Christ. the Son of the living God.
you are the King, you are the Savior.
you are the way, the truth, the life,
you are the Christ! O Lord most high, you are the Christ!

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

About the giveaway... Well... you are still on time to enter! You just need to go to the previous post (or click on the "Frappuccino Mocha" image on my sidebar) once you comment there (or in the post next Monday) you will have a chance to win the 4 Frapps and 1 Gift-card ... So... hurry and don't wait until next week to do it..... Oh! and do not forget to follow "The Coffee Shop" too....

I am so happy to have been chosen to do this giveaway.... Yesterday I received 4 Frapps and a gift card from Starbucks too! as a "thank you" for doing the giveaway! So hubby and I went to Starbucks right away! I couldn't wait to enjoy my frapp... so... the picture had to be after I was done with it! LOL!

Thank you all for joining and following "The Coffee Shop" ... Thanks also for your support! Do not miss our "Coffee Friday"

Monday, April 5, 2010

Good morning everyone! As I told you before OUR GIVEAWAY Starts Today...

First I am going to have my "Monday Moment" segment (as Starbucks calls it) and it is just a snap of last week.... a picture of a moment of relaxation I had..... and I must say that I actually enjoyed many moments like that! But... I would say here is my best one:

That is my girl ready to kiss me... The day was JUST MARVELOUS! really warm outside, after a cold winter it is really nice to have a day like this! where you can actually enjoy light clothes and a good walk by the lake with your daughter.... I would say that even when the day was busy I probably had some of the best moments of my life! The weather was perfect, having my daughter run around all happy! so happy that she would stop every 5 minutes to give me a kiss! That was just total bliss! A great moment to just relax... away from my routine, chores, laundry and even TV!

You might be wondering how you can win this.... And it is VERY VERY SIMPLE! just follow "The Coffee Shop" and make a comment on any of the 2 "Monday Moment" segments -beginning TODAY and next Monday too-, (like the one above). By commenting, you will be automatically entered to our Starbucks give-away. The name of the winner, which will be drawn randomly after the last Monday Moment post wrap-up will receive the 4 Frapps and the gift-card and will be announced here on "The Coffee Shop"

It is THAT SIMPLE...

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I really did! I will share more about it tomorrow!

Note: I received 4 Frappuccinos and a $10.00 USD Starbucks Gift-card as an incentive to host this giveaway.

Isn't it a great gift? I am so happy "The Coffee Shop" was considered to be part of this great opportunity to give those of you who love coffee (and Starbucks) a gift that will allow you to treat yourself! and not only that... but you will be able to try their new flavor (and light!! for those watching their calorie intake)

So.... You might be wondering how you can win this.... And it is VERY VERY SIMPLE! For the next two weeks beginning April 5th, I will be featuring a new Monday Moment segment (about a moment during the week previous to that Monday where I could sneak away from my chores and found a moment to relax.... basically a snapshot and a small caption). During this time you can share your own "special moment". By commenting, you will be automatically entered to our Starbucks give-away. The name of the winner, which will be drawn randomly after the last Monday Moment post wrap-up will receive the 4 Frapps and the gift-card and will be announced here on "The Coffee Shop"

So, it is THAT SIMPLE... You basically just need to comment IN ANY of those two Mondays "April 5th or April 12th) and you will have a chance to win! Of course I will also ask you to publicly follow "The Coffee Shop" (this will not be a requirement to be part of the giveaway) but... hey, why not join? You love coffee, I do too and we can have a great time together!

So.... start following us now.... that way you will not forget to comment on Monday!!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Happy Coffee Friday everyone! I am just stopping by really quick to write this post because I had to share a "Coffee Friday picture" .... but I've been SOOOO INCREDIBLY AND WONDERFULLY BUSY that it's kept me away a little bit... (The days have been SOOOO BEAUTIFUL and the weather so warm that I've refused to stay home! LOL! My daughter and I have been outside LITERALLY ALL DAY LONG the past two days! It's been awesome!)

So... Here is the Coffee picture:

This picture was shared on my Fotolog group by a dear friend who has a beautiful life and shares with us snaps of it in her Fotolog

The caption for this picture was: "Jesus is risen" ... It is not related to coffee... But it is related to THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT in the life of a Christian! So.... Have a Happy Easter and REJOICE .... FOR JESUS IS ALIVE!!!

" 4And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:

5And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

7Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." (Luke 24:4-7, King James Version)